Sunday, April 17, 2011

Chalkboard Juice Lid Labels

My linen closet is small. That’s the excuse I told myself every time I had to put my hip into shutting the door because there was so much stuff in my linen closet.

No more.

After my inner brat threw a tantrum after doing the shove-clean-towels-in-the-closet- slam-the-door-follow-through-with-hip-action one time too many (mostly likely you have no idea what I’m talking about because you have a neat and tidy linen closet.) It was time to go into the closet.

I purged a bunch of towels and threadbare washcloths that were supposed to be dog towels but I always accidentally put them back into the bathroom towel rotation. Guest towels and such went into the guest bathroom (novel concept I know.) I can find everything and everything has its place. The closet door shuts without extra hip action. Yay!

I turned my attention to the pocket organizer on the door. I’m not a fan of these because the thing you need is always hides in the bottom of the pocket (just like my car keys are always in the deepest darkest recess of my purse.)

Labeling the pockets would solve this issue quite nicely.

Except.

The pocket organizer is my modest stockpile of extra bathroom items. Items rotate in and out of these pockets frequently based on use, an extra items stock up because there is a sale, or I just can’t help myself when it comes to buying local handmade herbal soaps and lotions during summer festivals.**

Think. Think. Thinkity. Think.

Chalkboard Paint!!!

I have a ton of leftover chalkboard paint (AKA crafting crack) from my chalkboard paint kitchen backsplash. I saved a bunch of metal orange juice lids to make an Advent calendar until I realized when I was shopping for the rest of the supplies to make the calendar that I already had a giant chalkboard kitchen backsplash I can use as an Advent calendar.

Calendar project canceled.

Juice lids put on project within 6 months or purge waiting list.

How to make Chalkboard Paint Labels from Metal Can Lids

I roughed up the front of the metal orange juice lid with a piece of sandpaper so the paint adheres to the metal. Three thin coats of chalkboard paint later I had spiffy new upcycled and free! Metal chalkboard labels.

How to hang them?

I drilled a hole with my Dremel in the top of each lid turned chalkboard label. If you don’t have a Dremel, you can use a drill. The force of the electric drill bent the metal lid a bit when I tried it which made me go back to the Dremel for the rest of my labels. I made a bunch for future organizing and labeling projects.

All it took was a bit of pretty pink ribbon from my stash to tie the labels onto the pockets.

Small words are easier to write when using a big honking piece

of sidewalk chalk to write on a small chalkboard label.

Of course me being me, I can’t just write hand sanitizer, soap, or lotion on my labels. Ew, Dirt, and Flake are much funnier.

I’m a freak but I love projects like this because it’s a free fix. If I’m in a snit, a small cleaning and organizing usually pulls me out of it.

I get a sense of accomplishment. I find stuff I forgot I had. It’s like shopping for new novel stuff but it’s free and things I know I’ll like or use because I needed/liked it when I bought it.

I almost always find something to repurpose into something I need or want during a cleaning and organizing project. In other words, those old towels aren’t going to waste!

I always feel like I have MORE stuff after a purge, not less because I can find the good stuff I already have and USE it more often.

What about you? Or you an organizer or a shut the closet door with extra hip action type?

**Note: My summer handmade beauty aid purchases usually last me long enough to get me through to the holidays where people give more as gifts because I’m too old for Legos. In other words, I’m not auditioning for Hoarders anytime soon.

Also, if my family who likes to give me lovely lotions, soaps and such as gifts is reading this post – keep on keeping on. ‘cuz I like it, use it, and those around me are grateful I use soap. K?

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